It’s something of a paradox: the majority of people who have a viable medical malpractice claim never file one. That might seem unfathomable for someone on the outside: if someone caused you a serious injury, why on earth wouldn’t you seek compensation for it? But if you’ve ever been the victim of a medical mistake, you understand that the reality is a bit more complicated. Here are some of the top reasons injured patients don’t file medical malpractice claims.
When you’ve suffered a serious injury from medical malpractice, your focus is on feeling better, or maybe just on getting through the day. With a limited amount of energy and resources, it’s understandable that you might focus both on just surviving. This kind of triage is common and understandable. The problem is that by the time your situation is stable enough for you to focus on anything but those fundamental needs, the statute of limitations might have expired. That means that your legal window to bring a claim is closed, no matter how strong your claim might otherwise have been.
Bad outcomes happen in medicine all the time. It’s unfortunate, but things can go wrong without it being anyone’s fault. If you suffered a bad medical outcome, you may not immediately assume that it was due to medical malpractice.
Relatively few incidents of medical malpractice are completely obvious, like a doctor amputating the wrong leg. Many are much more subtle, like a doctor failing to order a standard test, leading to a delayed diagnosis of cancer that would have been treatable if caught sooner. It’s usually hard for a patient to be certain that they were a victim of medical malpractice, and by the time many get around to wondering or having someone investigate, it may be too late to gather evidence or file a claim.
There’s an old saying: “Hindsight is 20/20.” Decades from now, you’ll be able to look back and see exactly how much your injury cost you, and perhaps how life was never the same again. But in the immediate aftermath of an injury (whether from medical malpractice or not), most of us tend to assume we’ll make a full recovery.
Even if the prospect of a full recovery is off the table, few people can imagine the true damages they will suffer over time: medical bills from ongoing treatment or corrective surgeries; lost wages; pain and suffering; and less tangible (but very real) losses like the inability to enjoy recreation or care for a family.
Failing to accurately anticipate future needs can also be a problem in cases of life-limiting birth injuries. An infant’s needs may seem manageable, so that filing a malpractice claim doesn’t seem urgent. As a child with cerebral palsy or other special needs grows, however, the expenses necessary to give them the best and healthiest possible life grow as well. By the time those needs are fully known, the opportunity to seek compensation for them are long past.
Many patients, especially those who aren’t sure they have suffered malpractice or who have a long relationship with their doctor, don’t want to make trouble for their provider. They don’t want to be viewed as a difficult patient, or to lose a relationship with a physician they have come to trust. The truth is that if your provider has committed medical malpractice, they are the one who broke the trust in the relationship. You are not responsible for absorbing and bearing the costs of their mistake.
Suffering a serious injury, especially at the hands of care providers you trusted, can be traumatic. Many people want to put that behind them the best they can. You may fear that going through a lawsuit will dredge up that trauma all over again.
The good news is that while litigation has its stresses, holding a negligent medical provider accountable for their actions can provide closure and help you move forward. An experienced medical malpractice attorney can also help minimize the challenges of the litigation process. The reasons above are just a few of the many reasons why patients don’t file malpractice claims. Now let’s talk about what you should do if you think you or a loved one may have been the victim of medical malpractice.
No blog post can tell you definitively whether you should file a claim for medical malpractice. But one thing we can tell you without reservation: you should speak to a medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible after your injury to discuss your options. Many of the very real concerns listed above can be addressed by an attorney with knowledge of your unique circumstances. Your attorney can help you ensure that you get the care you need, and investigate if you have a claim that should be pursued. If you don’t have a case, you will at least have peace of mind that you fully explored your options before it was too late.
If you do have a viable claim, your attorney will answer your questions and help you understand what to expect from the process so that you feel prepared and supported. They will also take the legal legwork off your plate so that all you have to worry about is healing. A simple consultation with a medical malpractice attorney costs you nothing and can yield great benefits. To learn more about why patients don’t file malpractice claims, or to decide if you should, contact the Fraser Law Firm to schedule a free consultation.
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